“The old master was famous and, for sure, no one surpassed him in the wondrous art of music. The ruling dukes sought his acquaintance as an honor, poets dedicated their poems to him, and women, forgetting his age, showered him with smiles and flowers. But still, whispers were heard behind his back, and they knew how to poison the sweet and drunken wine of glory. They said that his talent was not from God and that in reckless audacity he blasphemously broke with the sacred precepts of previous masters...”